A religious anniversary or festival was first described as a holy day or, in Old English, a haligdæg (where “halig” means holy and “dæg” means day). From there it dropped both g’s – an example of how language naturally simplifies over time – and evolved into haliday. The leap to holiday is not much further.

Since the holy days were spent in recreation instead of labor, the word grew to include periods of time when people were exempt from working – even if the days were not “holy” or hadn’t stemmed from religious roots.

So as we say goodbye to holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, and general time off of work or school, I wish everyone the best. I will continue to provide you with the nerdiest of language history every Wednesday. Don’t forget to comment with words you’d like to see in upcoming weeks.

Happy Humpday, Nerds!